Dex bears are still decent. They didn't get a lot worse or anything, just pures got stronger. Dex bears still have the same issues they always had, short range damage skills and debuff combined with a ranged weapon. They also have the same strength, the best buffs in the game. As for the advantages of pure bears, they have higher skill damage, health, dodge (yes Str not Dex gives dodge now), armor, etc, and they use a weapon that fits with the skill set more. Really I think dual Str/Dex bear is the only truly viable dual build (dual build in case you are not familiar, have their stats split about 50/50 and use attribute boosting sets to equip top gear for two different classes, so in this case a bear that can switch from a sword to a bow). Pure Str or mostly Str is the best tanking build IMO, but a little Dex can be good, particularly for your Hit%.
Also, welcome back